Iskra's Odysseys

[Kite159]

Agreed with Penzance, it does have a good branch of Tesco Express next to a Co-Op in the town centre, and a good cafe (to all reports) between the bus and train station.

I've given myself 90-odd minutes in Penzance in April before escaping back to Devon (and for extra privacy via XC 1st class as it was only a quid more expensive than a standard advance, although I believe you get nothing that far west as the catering trolley boards at Plymouth)

 

[Iskra]

Agreed with Penzance, it does have a good branch of Tesco Express next to a Co-Op in the town centre, and a good cafe (to all reports) between the bus and train station.

I've given myself 90-odd minutes in Penzance in April before escaping back to Devon (and for extra privacy via XC 1st class as it was only a quid more expensive than a standard advance, although I believe you get nothing that far west as the catering trolley boards at Plymouth)

1st on XC is worth it just for the better environment, all of my worst standard class journeys seem to be on XC, so £1 well spent I think.

 

[Kristofferson]

Great picture of KGX! Really enjoyed the read

 

[Iskra]

So I've accumulated around £60 of RTV's, that I would like to spend over the summer using advance tickets. I don't mind topping the RTV's with cash to about the same amount.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Ideally one night away, midweek, leaving from Leeds and taking in some fast-running on proper trains involving some nice countryside.

 

[Techniquest]

I'm guessing you'll want to use them on a trip to Cumbria if you want proper trains from May onwards...

 

[Iskra]

I've done Cumbria a lot as I used to live there- it's probably the only county Ive done every line in and I did the tnt 37's on the S&C when they ran so don't need to do them. I need 67 and 68 haulage, but should be doing 68 on Tuesday all being well.

 

[fishquinn]

East Anglia will soon have 37s on the Norwich-Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft so you could possibly do that one day and hack the 68s on the Chilterns the next? Or alternatively go for HSTs on the GWML or ECML.

 

[rg177]

I've done Cumbria a lot as I used to live there- it's probably the only county Ive done every line in and I did the tnt 37's on the S&C when they ran so don't need to do them. I need 67 and 68 haulage, but should be doing 68 on Tuesday all being well.

Evening Fife or Chiltern 68s?

 

[Iskra]

On a Chiltern loco-hauled set on Tuesday so it's going to be interesting to see what turns up

Just done my route coverage map;

...I think I should probably go to Wales.

 

[fishquinn]

On a Chiltern loco-hauled set on Tuesday so it's going to be interesting to see what turns up

Lets hope its not a unit!

 

[Techniquest]

Crikey you have got a lot to do! hock:

 

[Iskra]

Lets hope its not a unit!

I will be so annoyed if it is...

Crikey you have got a lot to do! hock:

You're right, but it's a lot better than this time last year. I only got back into the hobby in the autumn and before that I'd only done a couple of summers a long time ago and I'm only 25.

 

[Techniquest]

Fair enough, doing well all things considered then

It took me several years to get my map all blue, I dread to think how much that cost!

 

[Iskra]

Lets hope its not a unit!

Got a 68. Predictably I'm sat right next to the engine

 

[fishquinn]

Oh good! 12:55 off BMO? Which one is it?

 

[Iskra]

Oh good! 12:55 off BMO? Which one is it?

1315 off London. It's 68013. Train is full of spotters.

 

[fishquinn]

Oh, vote cat 13! I think that this is its first day on passenger trains on the Chilterns.

Have a good time!

 

[Iskra]

A quick report that's outstanding from a couple of weeks ago, followed by yesterdays' bash.

17/03/15- Norwich in (a) 90

Operators Travelled:

VTEC, AGA, CT, XC

Traction Travelled:

HST, 90, 168, 220

0605 Leeds-London Kings Cross. 1st Advance £37. HST

A fairly routine trip down the ECML on my favourite traction type. Breakfast was good and service great. Having an early departure from Leeds meant there was lots of freight around the station which I don't normally see. While we were awaiting the off, 66041 pulled through the station on a Lafarge working. A number of other freight trains were visible with 66's on, looking towards the FL terminal as we departed Leeds. The only other remarkable sights were the two Blue 47's that never move at Doncaster, and a Colas 70- the first I've seen in the flesh.

We pulled in to Kings Cross on time and I caught the tube (£4.80 again- I must get an Oyster) towards Liverpool Street. On emerging at Liverpool Street, I was impressed with the concourse and facade. From here I would be on an off-peak ticket so had to wait for the 9.30am departure. During my wait, I bought a ticket from Norwich to Lingwood and back in the hope that the 47's would be on their correct diagrams and I'd be able to grab a quick ride. 0930 approached and I made my way to the barriers, it rejected my ticket and I had to show it to the staff member. I then walked to the far carriage of the 90/DVT set and boarded.

0930 London Liverpool Street-Norwich. AGA. 90+DVT set. £33.45 ouch (accidentally bought before advances were released) *New operator, new line* *not been on a 90 since the WCML had them*

On boarding, I was struck by the very tired interior of these Mk3's- many of the seat covers were very faded- and the seats seemed to be tiny. I settled down at a table of 4. There was some very interesting architecture to be seen on the way out of London, passing the Olympic site. The train was empty. When the guard came through I bought an additional ticket for a supposed-47 run as I'd stupidly bought a ticket to a station where the trains sometimes omit. The journey onwards was fairly uneventful and the GEML fairly mundane. At Ipswich there were a number of FL90's on container trains, shortly afterwards a grey FL90 pulled through again on a container working. At Crown Point there were a number of AGA 90's in various guises, some coaches from the Pretendolino and most interestingly a Regional Railways 08.

On arrival at Norwich, I was dismayed to see the working that was diagrammed for the LHCS was going to be a 153 instead, so I aborted that plan. Instead, I grabbed a coffee, cajun chicken wrap (v nice) and used the facilities. I then opted to get back to London on the next working. Having the 1157 Liverpool Lime Street and the 1200 London Liverpool Street services on adjacent platforms seemed like a recipe for disaster...

1200 Norwich-London Liverpool Street. AGA 90, 33.45 again.

On the exact same set as the previous journey, with the same crew. Luckily, the guard didn't recognise me from the previous train, so embarrassment was avoided. This time I sat as close to the loco as possible in STD- in the buffet coach. This train busied up a lot on the approach to London. As well as all the 90's I've previously seen, a pair of FL 86's had now appeared at Ipswich.

I was now headed for Marlylebone. Google told me to get the tube to Bond Street from Liverpool Street, which I duly did (£4.80 again :roll: ). Only to find that I was still a significant walk from Marylebone station, despite google saying that it's 8mins. I hailed a cab.

1445 London Marylebone-Birmingham Moor Steet (Moor Hill). Chiltern 168. Super off peak ticket £?.

This was booked before I'd come across the frequently requested diagrams thread in the hope of LHCS. As it turns out it was a 168, fairly well loaded, but still a pleasant trip on one of the nicest DMU's out there- Chiltern have done a great job with these units. We arrived bang on time.

I then had a couple of hours to kill in Brum before the 1903 to Leeds. I wandered around the City Centre for a while trying to find somewhere decent for food, but everywhere was too upmarket/stuffy for me to want to go and ask for a 'table for 1' or just unappealing. I eventually found a decent pub (The Sun On The Hill), I grabbed a pint, but then found there were no spare tables. I downed my pint (tribute) and continued my quest for food. After a while I gave up and went to Maccy D's near Birmingham New Street. Nuggets and chips were decent and I sat in the nice bit upstairs which was fairly peaceful.

I still had a fair while to wait for my train, so I googled to see if XC had a 1st class lounge, but alas they don't. Instead, I went to Costa at New Street and whiled away the time there.

1903 somewhere down south-Leeds. XC. Booked HST, actually a sodding Voyager (again) grr. 1st c. £25

Well once again, an XC train that's supposed to be a HST has been subbed for a voyager. This has happened to me three times now (the other two on business trips to Birmingham). The excuse being 'the HST failed on the depot this morning.' Anyway, positives; at least I was in 1st so I wouldn't be left seatless after having a reservation in a carriage that doesn't exist and Voyagers have better acceleration than HST so you arrive earlier, right? The 1st class host was fantastic, looking after everyone well, and I quite liked the 1st class interior too. Alarmingly, we started dropping time on the way back to Leeds. At Wakefield we were 8L. This train is scheduled to arrive into Leeds at 2106. My hourly bus is at 2105. I can usually make this bus off this train, but the lateness here wasn't helping the situation. We arrived into Leeds a little late, and a run to my bus stop (a good 3-4mins running) saw me there just in time. You can always rely on Arriva West Yorkshire to be late. Or maybe it was a fantastic example of West Yorkshire's integrated transport network. Hmm.

Summary: probably my worst trip so far. I paid over the odds on the GEML, missed the Great Yarmouth 47's, the tube was a disaster, XC made me endure a Voyager and then made me run. I never run. On a positive note, I got to travel on a 90 for probably the last time, I got a HST down to London and I covered the GEML which I've never done before.

 

[Techniquest]

Some bad luck there! Definitely need an Oyster, Tube is far cheaper with one and you'll never look back on point to point journeys!

Just remember those unused tickets will help passenger numbers and increase farebox revenue in Norfolk, so you've still done the railway a favour by buying two tickets that you didn't end up using! Always the best thing to do that, check first before buying tickets to cover journeys on unusual services/motive power!

I would never have suggested Bond Street for doing Liverpool Street to Marylebone. Central line to Oxford Circus and Bakerloo up to Marylebone, which IIRC is not an easy connection but better than walking from Bond Street!

Your HST would have started from Plymouth at 1523, just for the record. Shame you had to suffer a Voyager vice HST!

Hope it's better luck next time you go out, and good to see you enjoyed the Chiltern run

 

[Iskra]

07/04/15 A Grand Day Out

Operators Travelled

GC *New Operator*
CT
VT
LM *New Operator*

Traction

180 (2) *New Traction*
68 *New Traction*
390
350 *New Traction*
221

0823 Mirfield-London Kings Cross. GC 180. STD ADV £7.50

Waiting at Mirfield a number of 6 car 185's ran through, a NT 150/143 combo and a 6 car set of 170's (I feel sorry for the guard who has to work that train with no corridor connections.)
A better start today from GC as the train actually turned up (last time I tried travelling on GC I had to abort as it was over 60mins late). Around 20 got on at Mirfield station, which I thought was good. It was straight to the buffet for me, where I grabbed a black coffee (£2) before taking up my seat at a table. The 180 interior was ok but starting to show its age and some of the plastics needed a good scrub with a cloth. We crawled between Mirfield and Wakefield Kirkgate, which was new track for me. There were some very overgrown yards with some abandoned EWS rolling stock in as we approached Wakey. Kirkgate is looking tremendous now its finished- well worth a visit. We had an excessive 10minute dwell here, which I suppose I should have used to get some photo's of the finished station, but didn't. On leaving Kirkgate we passed a confused 66- DRS compass livery but FL badges on a container working. We continued crawling towards Doncaster and yet somehow arrived 4E. At Donny a Virginised 91 sped through hauling a grey Mk4 set. Also at Donny was a NR 31 on a test train and a Colas 56. We used P4 at Doncaster- the first time I've used this platform heading Southbound. The train was pretty full from Doncaster with it being the school holidays. This then gave me an unusual departure profile onto the ECML on the slows through some freight sidings, heading over an overbridge and then joining the slows and moving onto the fast line. The journey South was fairly routine from here, the only noteworthy sights being 4 class 20's at Peterborough, 2 in GBRF and 2 in BR blue. We arrived into Kings Cross 2L but that was inconsequential.

Emerging into the sunshine at London, I took a quick photo outside of Kings Cross.

I then walked to Marylebone, following my Apple Maps which was both easy and pleasant. The only minor hassle being fighting through the tourist outside of Madame Toussards. On the way I passed a small demonstration against genocide denial, which I found a bit random.

At Marylebone, the classiest of railway stations I had lunch at Patisserie Valerie before awaiting confirmation that the train I would be catching would be a LHCS set. I worked out which train mine was going to be from RTT and then went to grab a quick photo. I was pleased to finally get a ride on a Chiltern LHCS set and even more so that it was a 68, and this particular 68's first day working passenger trains.

1315 London Marylebone-Birmingham Moor Street. Chiltern 68. Super off-peak single. £?

I got on early and sat at the closest table to the loco that also provided a decent view. These mk3's are very nice inside, I was in the quiet carriage so it felt similar to being in 1st class really (bar one or two idiots having their phone on loud or making calls). This service was full of spotters The 68 was a good ride and accelerated well, making a nice roaring sound, which sounds even better when you go through tunnels etc. A great journey and well worth the wait. We passed a number of other 68's and 67's at Chilterns depot. At Leamington Spa a colas 70 was present on an engineering working.

On arrival at Moor Street it was straight over to New Street. A quick trip to the 1st Class lounge for a pepsi, more free wi-fi and a PNB was had before heading to my platform. Another broken escalator on the way down to P6 :roll:

1530 Birmingham New Street- London Euston. VT 390. 1st Adv £16

Service was good in 1st, with some interesting food. Only one booze run though.

This was new line for me from Birmingham NS to Rugby. The Train Manager kept apologising for the overcrowding in standard, saying it would alleviate at Coventry. Meanwhile, in 1st;

The train seemed to lose power on the approach to MK- we slowed right down, the AirCon switched off. Did the driver miss a Neutral Section? We lost a bit of time but not enough to concern me.

1713 London Euston- Milton Keynes (Birmingham NS). LM 350x2.

Both a new operator and new traction for me, as well as some new lines on the way out of Euston. This train wasn't as busy as I was expecting, it was 8 cars and there were only 2 of us in a 6 seat section. The ride was good, the windows a good size and the interior resembled that of a 333. The only issue was the lack of blinds was making it very warm onboard. This was an express to MK so I was there in no time. A good run on a solid unit.

I had a short change at MK, but I was lucky in that I didn't have to change platfortms. At Mk a double headed BRF 66 container train passed through and Southern 377 arrived from the South.

1803 (Chester) Milton Keynes-London Euston. VT 2x221.

A quick trip back down to London on a sweltering and busy Voyager. I spotted a number of 90's (First SR), 92's DBS/GBRF, a 59, 67, blue 86, Intercity 87 around Wembley.

I then walked back over to Kings Cross to await my train back up North.

1952 London Kings Cross-Mirfield. GC 180. 1st advance c£21.

1st class seemed to give a better ride than std earlier, maybe because I wasn't sat over a bogie this time? The attendent was very good, offering drinks frequently and offering to go to the buffet for any customers wanting anything more. After watching the sun set towards the west, the darkness descended and I took the opportunity to have a nap. Thankfully, there was no 10-minute dwell at Wakey this time. I watched the unit depart Mirfield- about 10 folk got off. Externally, these units have to be some of the sleakest/smartest on the network.

Summary: a productive day giving me some new operators and traction, some LHCS and probably the most variety of traction I've ever seen whilst out and about. Think I need to avoid the South ECML/WCML/Chiltern mainline for a while now though.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Some bad luck there! Definitely need an Oyster, Tube is far cheaper with one and you'll never look back on point to point journeys!

Just remember those unused tickets will help passenger numbers and increase farebox revenue in Norfolk, so you've still done the railway a favour by buying two tickets that you didn't end up using! Always the best thing to do that, check first before buying tickets to cover journeys on unusual services/motive power!

I would never have suggested Bond Street for doing Liverpool Street to Marylebone. Central line to Oxford Circus and Bakerloo up to Marylebone, which IIRC is not an easy connection but better than walking from Bond Street!

Your HST would have started from Plymouth at 1523, just for the record. Shame you had to suffer a Voyager vice HST!

Hope it's better luck next time you go out, and good to see you enjoyed the Chiltern run

Just got to learn from it all really, that's the main thing! Thanks for the advice.

 

[Techniquest]

Another good day out there, some of which I couldn't read due to the photos bizarrely covering up when I was reading via the app. I still haven't had a 68, but I've got tons of time to do them on future Daytrippers and on the autumn's planned Scottish trip. Advance warning all, that one's going to be a big trip and a long read when the report goes up

I'm not a fan of 180s, but they do have a decent look to them. Black and orange really suits them!

 

[fishquinn]

I still haven't had a 68.

They really are brilliant! They definitely sound better than the 67s!

 

[Techniquest]

Going just by the videos on YouTube I've seen I would agree. Lined up a Daytripper for 27th April to get started on the 68s, although that's not a fixed thing yet. Might end up doing things very differently, on a major TPP session tonight!

 

[Kristofferson]

Shame about the day out on the GEML, but the 68-hauled service sounds like a great trip!

 

[Iskra]

25/4/15 South Pennine Day Ranger

Operators Travelled

TPE
NT

Traction Travelled

185 (4)
323 (new traction)
144

So most of my trips tend to involve fast running on intercity services. However, this has meant I've neglected some routes closer to home that I've never travelled on. I've built up some RTV's so I used a £9 one to purchase a South Pennines Day Ranger for £5.85 from Dewsbury station. I'd never used RTV's before but it was fairly painless.

This ranger was a spur of the moment thing so when I arrived at Dewsbury there were no (fast) trains heading in the correct direction for a while. I was wanting to avoid travelling Leeds-Sheffield in the morning as Leeds Utd were playing Wednesday and I didn't fancy being on a rammed DMU. However, to kill time and maximise value, I jumped on the first available train:

0923 Dewsbury-Leeds. TPE 185.

This train was running about 10 minutes late. It was a fairly standard trip for me as I use this route frequently. I got a table seat and used it to charge my phone. The guard checked my ticket pretty quickly to say I was in the carriage furthest away on leaving Dewsbury.

At Leeds I then sought a TPE service over to Manchester. The station was busy and the first available TPE service was again running 10 minutes late, meaning two TPE services heading West would be leaving platform 16 within 2 minutes of each other- cue a busy a platform. A few minutes later a load of BTP turned up and spaced themselves along the platform clearly expecting football fans, a few minutes later they sheepishly moved down to platform 17 where the football fans they were waiting for actually were. Expecting a rush I stood back to watch how busy the first TPE service was going to be before deciding to get on it. It was fairly civilised and unreserved seats were available so I got on.

0953 Leeds-Manchester Piccadilly. TPE 185.

Again, I was lucky enough to get a table seat and charge my phone. Another fairly standard journey over the pennines, this time we flew through Dewsbury without stopping. The usual dramatic difference in weather between the two sides of the pennines persisted- this time the Manchester side getting the the raw deal. While on this service I used RTT to check out possible trains from Manchester Picc. I spotted a service to Crewe which I knew would be a 323 (new traction for me), however it was going to be tight at Piccadilly due to TPE's late running.

I got myself by the doors early ready to run for the Crewe train. I think it was P6 to P3 so not that bad a journey- I ended up with about 4mins to do it in. There was a brief moment of confusion when I got to P3 and found an XC Voyager parked in it. Then I saw a 323 was parked behind it on the same platform and dashed for it. I made it past the grinning guard, and the doors closed about a minute later.

1104 Manchester Piccadilly-Crewe. Northern 323.

First impressions of a 323 were that it was nice. I sprawled over 6 seats because it was empty. It was a quiet train with good acceleration and not as 'rattly' as the DMU's I'm accustomed to. I hopped off at Stockport so that I could head for Sheffield.

At Stockport I picked up a quick Starbucks (booo...) before running to Platform 0. I misread the PIS thinking the 1128 to Sheffield actually said 1120 so I actually had no need to run whatsoever. This hobby keeps you fitter than I expected! I thought it was strange that there was a service to Sheffield, calling at Sheffield only but TPE were merely having a bad day- there was no driver to take it beyond Sheffield to Cleethorpes.

1128 Stockport-Sheffield. TPE 185. *New route coverage*

Once again this service was late and seemed to sit at Stockport for a long time too. The fellow passengers were a bit of a motley group to be honest, so I didn't feel like asking if I could use anyone's plug socket. The guard made a few announcements about not pestering her about onward journeys until she had finished her ticket check. She duly appeared and stared at my Ranger ticket as if it was from outer space, before handing it back without a word. The route itself was quite a nice one, I was surprised at just how barren the countryside was that we travelled through, but it felt like we got to Sheffield pretty quick.

At Sheffield I took a PNB before buying a bottle of water from Starbucks (again!!)- the staff were very friendly. I saw I had about 15mins before my next train so I took a seat.

1236 Sheffield-Huddersfield. Northern 3-car 144. *New route coverage*

At least it wasn't a 142. To be fair I don't mind 144's too much. I nipped onto the middle carriage, where I took a '2'. Leg room wasn't great, so I sat sideways as I was making a longish journey. The train was pretty busy until Meadowhall where it emptied substantially. For some reason there were 2 conductors. At Barnsley the train started to fill up again, some people in front had got on the wrong train and instead got a very long journey to Leeds. I'd heard good things about the Penistone line, but in all honesty I was underwhelmed. It was pleasant, but nothing special. I hadn't realised just how much single track the line involved. Anyway, I'd been wanting to travel this line for a long time, so it was all good.

On arrival at Huddersfield my plans changed substantially. I was intending to travel back to Manchester and then explore the lines to Hadfield/Glossop/Marple to cover those routes for the first time. What actually happened was that I met up with some Huddersfield Town supporting friends and watched them play Blackburn before getting very very drunk.

Huddersfield Station (a photo I'd actually taken earlier in the week, but don't tell anyone...)

Overall a good day out with some new traction and routes covered, and I suppose going to the football means I've got an excuse to do another South Pennines Ranger sometime to do the Marple/Glossop lines!

 

[Techniquest]

At least you were honest about getting drunk in the evening instead!

A good day out there, even if it did involve Frothbucks!

It's a good run out to Hadfield, and more 323 action so always a winner in my book!

 

[Kristofferson]

Another good day out!

 

[Iskra]

Ok, so I've got massively behind on trip reports, so I'm going to do a pictoral update to clear the backlog;

North Wales Coast: Dewsbury-Holyhead via Hebden Bridge

Alighting the loco hauled service at Holyhead, after a pleasant trip in nicely refurbished stock.

The train back to Chester draws in, again another highly refurbished train that makes Northern's 158's look shabby.

Some Italian Adventures

Boarding the Italian equivalent of a 153 on the Italian equivalent of the Cumbrian Coast, this is a place called Adore in Calabria on Italy's South coast.

Quite nice on the inside when it cleared-out. (Excuse the poor photograph)

Not the most up to date timetable... ...the service on this line has been roughly halved since this timetable due to the recession, there's now a lot of bustitution too.

Some rare loco-hauled action between Soverato and Locri. This is the daily intercity service between Taranto and Regio Calabria. The coaches were very nice inside too.

The connection from Locri-Adore, this train has seen better days...

Leeds-Kyle of Localsh

DRS 57310 Pride of Cumbria on a Riviera Trains excursion London-Kings Cross-Prestonpans conveying American school children seen here at York. 57301 is on the back.

...featuring some smart carriages.

The Highland Chieftan arrives at York to take me North.

1st class tastes good today, especially considering this all on delay repay

Some Scottish scenery on the highland mainline

Really?

The Kyle Line.

The 158 at Kyle.

A rare and unexpected sighting of a surfaced nuclear submarine. Top right of picture, apologies for poor quality- hastily taken on an iphone.

Another rare sight- double-headed Caledonian Sleeper- 67009 and 67030 seen here at Inverness.

Serco 92 at Edinburgh on the way back down South.

Finishing off my route coverage in North Lancashire and Cumbria

WCRC have had a reshuffle at Carnforth on the way back to Leeds.

Personal Milestones:

Got 67 haulage on North Wales Coast
New Coverage Brighouse-Manchester Victoria
New Coverage Warrington-Holyhead
ATW a new operator for me
Travelled on Highland Chieftan & Kyle Line
First time on a Scotrail 158
New Coverage Edinburgh-Kyle of Localsh
New Coverage Perth-Ladybank
Some obscure new coverage around Leeds on the last Newcastle-Leeds HST, still not exactly sure where we went but it was very circuitous.
New Coverage Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street
First trip on a FTPE 350 due to Kilmarnock line being closed.
First daylight trip over Tyne Valley line- also first long trip on a 142 in a considerable time.
New Coverage Lancaster-Heysham Port
New Coverage Oxenholme-Windermere.

 

[Kristofferson]

Great pics, doing the Chieftain later this year so looking forward to the food

 

[Techniquest]

You've certainly had quite an adventurous few months! Those Italian trains certainly look rather different to what we have over here, it has to be said. Shame about bustitutions on the line there though, sad state of affairs.

All of you lot doing the Highland Chieftain in First Class, I did it in Standard Class! I can assure you all it's a rather long endurance that way! I'd love to do it First Class if I ever get the chance to do it again, but there and back in Standard would be too much.

Unusual indeed that double-heading with 67s in Inverness! What did you think of the Kyle line?

Anything else in the pipeline?